Fashion in my field
I saw a great pic of a friend impersonating Superman, complete with logoed t-shirt under an Oxford shirt and business vest and trousers.
And it got me to thinking - no one wears a good business vest anymore. If I talked about vests with you recently, I most certainly don’t include tan leather or leather-like vests from the ’70s in this category.
Then it occured to me that perhaps I just hang in the wrong crowds. I mean, my friend is essentially a businessman - at least, he’s not an academic. And in my various fields of academia, it seems REI sets the fashion bar for grad students, and jeans are a common occurence even among faculty in my department. The only time I see colleagues dressed smartly is when they’re giving a talk and looking for a job. I heard that Joe Gregory, a Great Paleontologist who recently passed away, was among the last who insisted on wearing a tie at work. And I think most of my G.G. Simpson books show him in a suit. People used to dress up more, even in paleontology, even at Berkeley.
So, if I ever have time to spare, or am hard up for change, or just need a change of pace on a post-tenure sabbatical, maybe I’ll opine in a book. I even thought of a cool title: Class Outside the Classroom: Practical, Professional Attire for the 21st Century Academic.
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